Op-Ed: Federal budget claims support for evidence, but slashes funding for it

Op-Ed: Federal budget claims support for evidence, but slashes funding for it

In the House and Senate budget hearings last week, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson frequently commented that the reduced foreign aid funding levels did not reflect the ability of the State Department and USAID to be effective.

Having worked for two decades on improving the effectiveness of international development programs through monitoring, evaluation, and learning, I agree with his statement that “more money doesn’t necessarily mean better outcomes.” However, I would argue you do need to fund the mechanisms designed to gather evidence about the outcomes and impact of foreign aid.

The proposed fiscal year 2018 foreign assistance budget slashes funding for the very activities that provide this evidence. If we want the U.S. taxpayer to believe the U.S. government is serious about using evidence for effective foreign aid, Congress should restore this funding.